eBay batteries (for notebooks)

[He Man]

I really need a battery for my laptop and between doing it myself (total cost $80 bucks but i know where my battery cells are coming from) and buying it on ebay ($40 shipped) im a little skeptical about what kinda cells they use.

Any one have any experience with the ebay packs? I have an HP DV3150nr if that matters. The only thing with rebuilding it myself is i dont seem to be able to open the battery without completely fubaring the plastic shell.

[Veloce-Fino]

I'm in the same boat. My laptop needs a new battery. From the manufacturer it's $150, on ebay it's $50.

Check the reviews. If the seller has a couple thousand positive reviews then they are probably selling a decent product.

Check out http://www.batteriesplus.com/ slightly more reputable than ebay.

[He Man]

the issue with feedback is, you only get 90days to leave it.

So eveyrone who leaves it says yea it works thanks fast shipping. but what about 6 months later? I cycled mine everyday for a whole year before it pooped on me ( and by pooped i mean by the end of the year i wouldnt last more than 10 mins, now it wont even last 90 seconds)

[Veloce-Fino]

True, you don't know the lifespan of the battery.

Mine is in the same boat, unplugged lasts about 30 seconds, no joke.

If it was me, for the cost I'd try it. $40 to find out if you can save a bunch of money, could be worth it.

If it explodes and spreads toxic li-ion battery juice all over you let me know so I don't buy one.
Imagine this on your lap. 
Lithium Battery Explosion By Night

[DarkStaR]

How do you plan on connecting the batteries together?

...

1. You cannot replace the cells in Li-Ion battery packs. It is impossible to get rechargeable Li-Ion cells unless you have a license for using raw Li-Ion cells. There are some cells out there with the proper electronic safety measures built in, but these will likely not work in a rebuilt laptop.

2. Rebuilding NiMH packs isn't that difficult, but you'll need to keep the original electronics and replace bad fuses with exact replacements.

3. Soldering directly to cells is NOT a good idea. The heat can damage the cells and cause them to be inoperable. If possible, buy cells with tabs, or use a spot welder if you're so lucky to have access to one.

4. Do not use NiMH cells to replace NiCad packs unless you have an external charger built to charge NiMH cells. Most laptops that take NiCad battery packs only have a NiCad charger.

5. Memory effect is not a big issue. Read more about it here:
http://www.zbattery.com/memoryeffect.html

I think those are the major issues. I'd be happy to answer any other questions that people may have.

Bryan Noonan
The Battery Guy
http://www.Zbattery.com
sales@zbattery.com

[He Man]

How do you plan on connecting the batteries together?

Soldering. the batteries i plan on buying have tabs, and i have a 100watt gun so it should be a quick job. But i really cant open the case without destroying it.

[djrashonal]

the battery on the wife's lenovo battery died a couple months ago. I was in the same boat, but then i lucked out and found an authentic battery on amazon for cheap. What laptop/battery do you have/need?

[Bladecutter]

I replaced the battery to my Compaq Presario F500 earlier this year, after it being nearly worthless for the past couple of years. I picked it up from a company on Amazon for pretty cheap.

Most Compaq's and HP's use the same exact battery pack, so do a search on Amazon, and you should have a much better selection, for less money.

BC.

[Airborne]

I bought an ebay battery for my HP and it has lasted at least as long as my factory spec battery did. 2 years still going strong. I ripped apart my old battery in an attempt to make a new one. I googled the part number for the cells and the best price i could find for the replacement cells was the price of the ebay battery. for 40 bucks, try it.

[redxblack]

My dad bought an ebay battery for his laptop. It would not hold a charge, so he contacted the seller. They had him mail it back at their expense (paypal reimbursement) and shipped a new one as soon as he emailed a copy of the post office receipt. His new battery worked fine.